


I Can't Make You Love Me

by Jennawynn



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Queertical Role
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 12:05:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15460992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jennawynn/pseuds/Jennawynn
Summary: When Kendall is pressured into adventuring by her brother, she finds a treasure she wasn't expecting, and the temptation is too great to resist.





	1. Chapter 1

**_18 Takaramont 3Y18-_ ** _ I’m so excited. Fixin to go to the Bastion to visit Kafar tomorrow. He’s been stationed here and said he’d show me around for my name day! It’ll be the first time I seen him since he left for training a year ago when I visited Uncle Adryl in Hoghbom Lodur. It’s selfish, but I’m glad he got stationed here instead of south. Now I can see him more often! _

_ Maybe we’ll see some wild displacer beasts like the ones Horrum keeps. Or some monsters. I’ll have to make sure I take my hammer with me. I reckon I might need it! _

 

“Gunnloda! Someone’s here t’see you!” 

 

Gunnloda shut her journal and rushed upstairs. The celebration of her fiftieth nameday, the day she was considered an adult in the the dwarven culture of Dhog Lodir, had just passed days prior, but her friends were still dropping by to offer well-wishes. She leaped up the stairs two at a time, wondering who was calling this time, and skidded to a stop when she saw a man standing there in black scale armor. His auburn hair was braided back, and when he turned to face her with a smile, his green eyes glittered above a thick, braided beard. 

 

“Kafar! I thought y’weren’t gon’ be here ‘til tomorrow!” She threw herself a him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He laughed as he caught her and spun her around.

 

“And miss an extra day of time with m’favorite cousin? Never.”

 

She pulled back from him, holding him at arm’s length. “Let me get a look at you!” He stood an inch or two taller than she did with the black and grey tartan of the Bastion draped over one shoulder of his armor and tied at his waist. She smiled at him warmly. “Y’cut quite a figure for yourself, cousin. Y’look like a real life hero.”

 

“This hero’s hungry, what’ll it take t’get you to make some o’ your famous sweet potato pie for me?” 

 

“I’ll trade you for stories from your trainin’. C’mon,” she replied, pulling him by the arm towards the kitchen.

 

\-------------------

 

“Kendall, please. It’s just this once. Nat isn’t coming and Tematur won’t come along if we don’t have a healer.” The halfling popped a biscuit into his mouth and leaned back in the chair, putting his feet up on Kendall’s table. 

 

“My faith is not for profit, Finras.” She walked past him and pushed his feet off the table. His chair fell forward and landed on all four legs again. She sat down opposite him and set her tea cup and saucer down before running her fingers through her short, golden curls. “You know I’m not an adventurer. I haven’t done anything like that since you decided to go look for treasure for Father’s birthday when we were twenty.”

 

He grinned. “But we  _ did _ find the treasure. And even then you kept us from being hurt. Come on, Kendall… just this once. I’ll find a replacement for Nat when we get back. We just don’t have time to vet someone before we have to leave.”

 

“Oh, so not only are you trying to drag me away from my duties, you want me to drop everything to do it?”

 

“It won’t be more than a couple weeks. We’re going down to the caves below Dhog Lodir. If we can find all the components, your share will be a year’s pay at the church.”

 

She took a long sip from her cup, considering her options. “When are you leaving?”

 

“Two days.” 

 

“Two days?!”

 

“Please, Ken, I need you.” 

 

Kendall looked at her twin brother, the same golden curls framing his impish face. His normally mirthful eyes were pleading with her. She smirked and set her cup back down. “One condition. I want to hear you say you need my magic.” 

 

“I just said I need you. Tematur won’t--”

 

Kendall interrupted him by raising her hand. “I want to hear you say that  _ you need my magic _ .” 

 

Kendall watched her brother nearly choke on the pride he had to swallow with a grin. “Fine,” he said. “I need your magic.”

 

“All right then. I suppose I can help out this once. Once, Finras.”

 

“That’s all I need.”

 

\------------

 

“So I says to her, ‘Misnera, y’know we ain’t got chairs that can accommodate that giant stick in yer ass.’” 

 

Kafar’s booming laugh echoed through the caves as he held a hand out to help Gunnloda climb up a ledge. She took his hand and scampered up the incline. Her warhammer, still shiny and new, engraved with the Frostbeard crest, bumped against her leg as she stood and looked around. 

 

“M’sorry I missed it,” he said as he pointed towards one side of the chamber and led her further into the dark. “I wanted t’get out here before the party, but I had t’finish up my transfer.”

 

“It woulda been better if you were there, but the look on Misnera’s face made up for it.” 

 

She followed Kafar through the tunnel.

 

“So, Minnie, is it everythin’ you hoped for?” he asked, chuckling as she stumbled over a loose stone. He grabbed her arm to help stabilize her before moving on.

 

“It’ll do… be better if we could see some tentacats, though,” she added with a grin. 

 

“I’ll keep m’eyes open and let y’know if I see any. Maybe I can bring you back down sometime.”

 

They continued down the tunnel, laughing and sharing stories from the past year since the last time they’d seen each other until Kafar stopped suddenly and pulled Gunnloda behind him. She leaned over to peek around his shoulder as he pulled his hammer from his side. There, about twenty feet ahead, was a creature that looked like a brain on four legs. It had no eyes or anything that Gunnloda could identify as a face, but it seemed to be pointed in their direction.

 

“Just back up, Min. Slowly.”

 

Gunnloda took a step back, her hand closing around the haft of her hammer, and turned, but stopped short. Her other hand grabbed at Kafar’s shoulder. A second creature was standing ready, less than a dozen feet to the side and behind the two dwarves. 

 

A sudden piercing pain stabbed through Gunnloda’s mind, but she found herself unable to even reflexively pull her hands up to cover her ears. She watched, frozen, as Kafar shouted and jumped forward with his hammer towards the closest of the brain creatures. 

 

His hammer crashed against the side of the aberration, but the other one ran forward and scraped its clawed paws against Kafar’s armor. A gush of red blood sprayed from his neck as the claw caught his flesh above the metal plates. 

 

Gunnloda struggled against her own mind, trying to regain control of her body as Kafar’s hand closed over the wound at his neck. The creature he’d hit stood shakily, but before it could retaliate, both creatures shrunk back and slowly moved away. Before Gunnloda could be relieved, she felt the presence of something else, something that made the air feel heavy. 

 

Still frozen, she watched Kafar turn to look at the new arrival. She could see now that his eyes were full of fear, his beard was spattered with blood, and his face was paler than usual. He pulled his eyes away from whatever he saw and locked eyes with Gunnloda. “I-- I’m sorry, Min.” 

 

A strange, strangled sound issued from the tunnel behind her, and from her side, she saw a tall, humanoid creature in armor made of dwarven breastplates walk across the uneven ground as if it was floating through water. Its bluish skin was bare on top of its head, but its face drew down into a set of long tentacles that waved in a non-existent current. They moved again as the strangled sound filled her ears.

 

She felt pressure around her torso and she felt herself being dragged away, then everything went dark. 

 

\-----------

 

When Gunnloda woke up, she opened her eyes and let her vision clear before she moved. She slowly sat up, looking around at the metal bars that surrounded her. Looking past the cage she was in, she saw that the chamber she was in was small, but had an opening to one side. 

 

“M-Minnie…” Kafar’s voice was raspy, quiet. Gunnloda turned to look in that direction and saw Kafar sitting up against the bars of his own cage.

 

“Kafar… what happened? What are they?”

 

He shook his head and took a ragged breath, wincing against the pain. He’d removed his breastplate and held a cloth to the wound at his neck, but Gunnloda could see his entire torso was stained with blood. 

 

“Illith-- illithids. M’sorry, Min-- Minnie.” 

 

“No… no, you don’t apologize like y’ain’t gettin’ outta here.” Gunnloda moved so she was as close to the edge of her cage as possible and put her arm through the space between the bars. Kafar reached out for her, holding her hand weakly. 

 

“Please, Kafar…. Don’t give up. Don’t leave me.” Gunnloda’s vision blurred as tears streamed down her face, but the hand she held went lax as Kafar’s last, labored breath left him. 

 

\------------

 

“You need to be more careful, Finras.” Kendall laid her hands on either side of Tematur’s slashed open thigh. She muttered a prayer, “Olladra, grant me the power to heal these wounds,” and added a mumbled, “and the patience to deal with my brother.” 

 

Tematur watched as her grey flesh knitted itself back together and she laid a large hand across Kendall’s back. “Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome, dear. I’m sorry  _ that my brother’s recklessness _ caused the need for healing in the first place.”

 

“Shove off, Kendall. How was I supposed to know that it would do that?”

 

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe you should have been patient and let Lorelor finish looking around before barging in. That is why you hired him, innit?”

 

Finras frowned and grabbed his pack as he walked away, down the tunnel Lorelor was scouting. 

 

Kendall sighed as he left and turned her attention back to the half-orc sitting on the ground next to her. “Sorry, love.”

 

“Ah, I’ve been dealing with him for ten years now. You’d think I’d learn, eh?” She laughed, her lips spread wide across the tusks that grew up out of her jaw. “Don’t worry ‘bout me too much, Kendall. I’m here to get hit so you little’uns don’t.” 

 

“Or we can try  _ not _ to get hit at all. That’d be my preference.”

 

“Well, we better go catch up before he stumbles into a pit because he’s too impatient to wait.” 

 

\----------------

 

Gunnloda’s head pounded, her eyes were puffy and dry, but she couldn’t stand to let go of Kafar’s hand. A noise at the mouth of the cavern caught her attention and she jerked in place, looking over her shoulder as an illithid entered. She heard that same strangled sound, then it started moving towards Kafar’s cage. 

 

Gunnloda sprang to her feet and threw her shoulder against the bars. “Don’t you fuckin’ touch him you cave squid-faced monster!” When the creature barely reacted, Gunnloda tried threatening in Undercommon,  _ “If y’touch a hair on his head, I swear I’ll find a way outta here and feed you your own britches.” _

 

This time the creature paused and turned toward her. A voice rang through her mind, whispering in the same language.  _ “Spirited. Good. You will make a good host.” _ The creature reached one thin hand into its robe and withdrew a thick caterpillar-like insect. It approached the cage, and she scrambled back as far as she could, but the cage was too small to be out of its reach.  _ “Now stay still _ .” 

 

She felt the invasive stab through her brain again and struggled to move, but could do nothing but stare in horror as the creature held the caterpillar out towards her. It crawled off the blue finger and onto her cheek. As it started making its way towards her nose, the blue-skinned humanoid jerked backwards, looking towards the entrance to the cavern. It moved across the chamber and through the tunnel faster than she’d seen them move thus far. 

 

The tickle of tiny feet on her cheek turned her stomach and she tried to will her limbs to move, to repel the creature now crawling towards her nostril. She exhaled sharply through her nose, trying to stop it, but it continued moving steadily across her lip and up. She felt her eyes water, tears pooling at the corners of her eyelids as she felt her nostril move, expanding slightly to accommodate the fat creature’s girth. 

 

She could feel the feet pushing against the inside of her nose, pushing the creature deeper, could feel the urge to gag, to throw up, to reject the invasion of her person, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t move. Suddenly there was a loud noise from outside the cavern, a sharp pain somewhere between her nose and her throat, and she felt the hold on her muscles release. 

 

Her hands flew to her face, thick fingers grabbing at the end of the caterpillar still on the outside of her nostril, and she yanked it out, throwing it on the ground before succumbing to a full-body shiver. Her arms and hands flailed uncontrollably as the delayed reaction caught up to her muscles. She stomped on the caterpillar, its innards bursting through the skin, turning it into a mess of snot and slime at the bottom of her cage. She promptly bent over and emptied her stomach, retching until there was nothing left but pain. 

 

Collapsing against the opposite edge of the cage, she pulled the bottom of her shirt up to wipe her face clean of blood and mucus from her nose and the remnants of vomit from her mouth. She took several deep breaths, then looked away from the mess at her feet towards Kafar. 

 

His hand still rested between their cages, his fingers slightly curled as the muscles relaxed. She curled up on her side and pushed her hand back between the bars, reaching for his hand. She could barely reach his fingers with her fingertips, but as the silence dragged on, she fell asleep there, her fingertips hooked over his.

 

________________

 

When Gunnloda woke, she was sore and stiff, and the arm she held out towards Kafar had fallen asleep. She still hesitated to move, worried that she may not be able to reach him again if she let go. She laid there, the bitter, acidic smell of the mess at the bottom of her cage unsettling her stomach again, as if there was anything in it to throw up. 

 

She lost track of the time she spent listening, drifting in and out of consciousness, waiting for the illithid to return. Sometimes she felt like she could hear whispers like those the illithid had spoken to her with, but other times she thought it was just a memory or a trick of the silence. 

 

“M’sorry, Kafar,” she said, her voice coming out harsh and raspy. “I shouldn’ta been so loud.” Despite her cracked lips and the thickness of her tongue telling her how dehydrated she was, she could feel the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. 

 

There were new sounds in the darkness, the growling, gnawing hunger of her stomach and the harshness of her breath. “Hope y’put a good word in with Akthor for me, cousin,” she said, squeezing his fingertips with hers as her body convulsed with a hacking cough. 

 

She slipped into unconsciousness again and again, each time waking up with bars and Kafar’s face in view. His body stiffened, then relaxed, his skin loosening and becoming slick before bloating. She watched, unable to look away, as the process of decomposition was the only thing marking the change from hour to hour, day to day.

 

Then one time, she opened her eyes… and there was nothing. The pain was gone, but there was no relief in the absence of discomfort. It was simply… absence. She didn’t move, not because she was frozen, but because there was no body to move. She was afloat in emptiness, alone in a void of darkness. She didn’t even have a mouth to open so she could scream.


	2. Chapter 2

“How much longer do you think we’ll be down here?” Kendall asked as Lorelor handed her a piece of the bread-like mushrooms he’d harvested for dinner.

 

“Just looking for the fennel silk now, but I swear if we don’t find it in the next couple days, I’m going to start for the surface. I’m getting tired of eating trillimac.” The elf stretched out along the floor with his hands behind his head. 

 

Finras’s voice floated into the chamber from a connecting tunnel. “I don’t  _ know _ , Tematur. All I know is that it’s in that direction, but I can’t tell which tunnels will get us there. It’s not like having a bloody map.” 

 

“Sounds like your brother’s back,” Lorelor said, rolling his eyes. 

 

“One of these days, you two will have to explain why you’ve stuck with him for so long.” 

 

Tematur ducked through the entry to the chamber where the camp was set up, followed by Finras. Her annoyance was apparent, but his frustration radiated from him like a sharpness that immediately set everyone else around him on edge. 

 

\--------------

 

She had no idea how long she’d been… wherever this was. She’d given up on trying to open her eyes. She couldn’t even tell if she still had eyes. This wasn’t any sort of darkness she’d ever encountered. Even in the caves, her dwarven eyes could see without light. This though, this was advanced darkness. Not just the absence of light, but just absence. No shapes, no objects, nothing but her own thoughts to keep her company. 

 

Even thoughts were strange without a body to hold them. Memories without emotion. Regret without pain. She could remember things like happiness, fear, anger, but couldn’t feel them. She knew she should be terrified, but she had no heart that would race, no hands that could tremble. 

 

\------------

 

Kendall poked through the remnants of the camp. There was some strange, bluish-silver liquid that might have been blood dried in splatters, but no bodies. It looked like there was some sort of fight and the camp was barely dismantled before the people using it fled with what they could manage, leaving the rest of it behind. But the “rest”... it was so alien that Kendall had trouble deciphering what the objects were for. She recognized bits of metal or leather that had once been dwarven craft, but they had been repurposed beyond her ability to understand.

 

“Kendall!” Finras’s voice rang out. There was no panic behind the call, but she rushed down the tunnel he’d decided to investigate with Lorelor. Tematur stood outside the tunnel, watching for anyone who might come up behind them.

 

When she entered the room, she was overwhelmed by the stench of decay. She used the sleeve of her robe to cover her mouth and nose to try to ward off the worst of it. 

 

Through watery eyes, she looked over the scene. A small cavern with only one entrance, but two cages were pushed against the wall. Inside each was what had been a dwarf. One looked to be male. His armor was partially removed, and his flesh was already rotting. The other was an emaciated woman. Her arm was stretched out towards the other, but not quite reaching what was left of his hand.

 

Finras stood from where he was looking at a pile of dwarven gear, possibly the belongings of the two dead dwarves. “Think you can do anything for them?”

 

“Put them to rest? Since when do you care?”

 

“No, not rest. Bring them back.”

 

Kendall pulled her eyes away from the outstretched arm to look at her brother with narrowed eyes. “What’s in it for you? It was you who said we couldn’t be wasting resources on flights of fancy.”

 

“Can you do it or not, Kendall?”

 

She looked back at the pair, this time with analytical eyes. “If we were back in Vatru, I’d say this bloke’s too far gone… but I don’t know how being down here would affect it.”

 

Finras stepped up next to her. “Look. He’s wearing the Bastion’s colors.”

 

“And you think they might reward you for returning one of theirs.” 

 

“Us, Kendall. It’s not always just me.”

 

“I’ve only got the one diamond. If it’s consumed, we have to head back soon or we risk leaving one of  _ us _ down here.” 

 

“If this works, it won’t matter.”

 

Kendall sighed. “Let’s get them out of there, first. But… be careful. He looks like he’s in shambles.” 

 

Lorelor picked the locks of the cages and Tematur pulled the bodies out to lay them out side by side while Kendall prepared the ritual. She burned her incense and laid the diamond over the heart of the male dwarf. She raised her hands over the body and started a prayer. 

 

“I call on the aid of the Sovereign Host. A warrior has fallen. Boldrei, Sovereign of Hall and Hearth, return him to his home where he defends his community as a member of the Bastion. Dol Arrah, Sovereign of Sun and Sacrifice, his life was sworn in service to protection and valor. Let not his heroism die in the dark. Dol Dorn, Sovereign of Strength and Steel, lift his hand that he might lend his power to the protection of his people. Onatar, Sovereign of Fire and Forge, breathe life back into this dwarf, favored people of yours. May the Host find cause to return this man’s soul to the Material Plane, and should he not be returned, show him to the rest he has earned.”

 

She finished her prayer and lowered her hands. The diamond sat, inert, over his chest. Her shoulders drooped and she bowed her head. Lorelor put a hand on her shoulder. “It was a beautiful prayer, Kendall.” He looked over the body of the soldier to the woman lying beside him. “Do we know anything about her to help your plea?”

 

Kendall’s eyes skirted over the woman. She was thin, a result of what was likely starvation. She wore no armor, no tartan to indicate membership of a guild or organization. The piled belongings in the corner could be from either of the dead, or scavenged from elsewhere. There was no way to tell which belonged to her. Her long red hair was braided back, but the braid was frayed and falling apart. Her shirt was stained with muck- some mixture of blood and something else Kendall couldn’t identify. 

 

Kendall sighed. “No.” 

 

She started the ritual again, burning incense and placing the diamond on the woman’s chest, over her heart. “I call on the aid of the Sovereign Host. A life has been lost. Arawai, Sovereign of Life and Love, fill her veins with the miracle of life. She may be someone's wife, mother, sister, daughter.  Return her to her family. Boldrei, Sovereign of Hall and Hearth, return her to her community, her people who surely mourn their loss. Olladra, Sovereign of Feast and Fortune, protect her on the path back to her home, restore her and give her the good fortune to continue a life cut far too short. Onatar, Sovereign of Fire and Forge, look at your favored child with mercy. May the Host find cause to return this woman’s soul to the Material Plane… and should she be denied, show her to the rest she’s earned in such a short life.”

 

The diamond over the woman’s chest started to spin, glowing brighter and brighter until it burst, spraying golden, glittering dust over the body. It seeped into her body and the three of them watched as her skin warmed from pale white to rosy. Her flesh plumped back to a healthy thickness. Her muscles grew from atrophy to firmness. She gasped and her eyes flew open.

 

\---------

 

Something changed. It wasn’t a light or a voice or anything she’d be able to describe later, just a pull. Slight enough that she could ignore it if she’d so chosen, but  _ present _ . The first thing that had existed in this void. With a thought, she allowed it to take her. There was no fear, no pain, no worry about whether she was making the right decision.  _ Desperation _ , she thought, putting a word to the feeling she thought she ought to have in this moment. Wherever the pull took her, it had to be better than nothing. 

 

The first thing she felt was pain. Not piercing or throbbing, but the pain of living, of existence. Stone beneath her back, hard and cold. A slow fire burning through her as warm blood ran through her veins again. The urge to fight against suffocation, to  _ breathe _ , had her gasping for air. Her eyes flew open, but there was no sight… not at first. She blinked, her eyes slowly becoming moistened again, and the fog began to clear. Shapes. Colors. A face looking down at her with concern. Golden curls framed a cherubic face and Gunnloda couldn’t help but wonder if this was an angel, some celestial being come from the heavens to save her.

 

After the absence of sensation, the return was overwhelming. She could feel every grain of dust that entered her lungs. Every pebble beneath her. And the  _ smell _ . Pressure built in the back of her throat, her stomach convulsed, and soon she was rolling over to retch, but there was nothing to expel. 

 

Warm hands closed over her forehead and the back of her neck, supporting and comforting her. She tried to focus on one sensation- on those hands- and push the rest into the background so she wouldn’t be so overwhelmed by it all.

 

“Is… is she ok? Is this normal?”

 

“I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve had to do this. Grab a blanket, would you? She’s shivering.” There was a pause, then the voice continued, somehow softer. “Can you hear me, love? What’s your name?”

 

Gunnloda squeezed her eyes shut, trying to make sense of the words. It was as if she knew what each word meant, but couldn’t understand what they meant put together. The hands helped guide her into a sitting position, and she felt the pressure of a blanket being draped around her shoulders. She felt fingertips run along the edge of her jaw, softly urging her chin up. She opened her eyes again to see those same golden curls, but this time her eyes focused more and she saw now that it was a halfling. She had the beginnings of creases at the corners of her grey eyes and around her mouth. Smile lines, she thought. 

 

The halfling put her hand to her own chest. “Kendall. You are…?”

 

“Gunnloda,” she replied, her throat dry and voice raspy. She tried to clear her throat, but found it difficult. Kendall reached down to her belt and pulled a small flask free. 

 

“Here, drink, love.” She held the flask to Gunnloda’s lips and waited for her to take it. Gunnloda’s fingers were too stiff to grasp the container, but Kendall helped her tip it up until she could drink. She then pulled it back down before Gunnloda could choke on it. “Better?”

 

Gunnloda nodded, though the cool liquid hitting her empty stomach only served to remind her just how empty it was. “H-hungry?”

 

Kendall’s eyes moved over Gunnloda’s shoulder to look at someone behind her and she motioned with her head. There was the sound of motion behind her, then she saw a tall man walk out of the room. “He’ll get you something to eat. Can you tell me more about who you are, love? Where are you from?”

 

“F-Frostbeard. Bom K-Khorbor.” 

 

Gunnloda glanced down at her hands, watching her fingers curl under her command. When she looked back up, she blinked hard, trying to make sense of seeing two sets of gold curls in front of her. One of them smiled. “It’s not your eyes. There’s two of us.”

 

The second one took something from the tall man when he returned, then held it out to Gunnloda. “Here you go, beautiful. Have some trillimac.” 

 

\----------------

 

Kendall resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her brother. Of course he’d be over here, buttering her up once he heard the magic word, “Frostbeard.” Bloody royalty, she was. He must have seen something in that pile of gear that made him think there was a reward worth the diamond she had to use to cast the spell. He had to have known that the return of a soldier of the Bastion wasn’t likely to do it, but if he’d known one of them was royal… 

 

Kendall pushed the thoughts from her mind. Regardless of the reason, they’d brought this woman back to life and now she was going to do whatever she needed to to make sure she stayed that way. Gunnloda had practically inhaled the chunk of trillimac that Lorelor had brought for her. “Poor girl,” she thought. “Must be starv-- well, that’s likely how she died, innit?”

 

Kendall smiled at her. “This is my brother, Finras, and my friend, Lorelor. They’re going to take you into the next room and get you more to eat, all right, love?”

 

Gunnloda nodded, but when she tried to stand, her legs were too weak, too unstable. Kendall called Tematur to help them, but asked that she come back when she was done. She watched Tematur scoop the dwarf up in her arms and carry her out to the abandoned camp. 

 

Finras and Lorelor dutifully followed them and Kendall went to look through the pile of gear. Most of it looked old, the scraps of things that had been repurposed, but sitting there in the middle were two warhammers. One was silver, still shiny and new like it had never been used, the other was slightly worn and made of blackened steel, but both had the snowflake-like crest of the Frostbeard family on the side.  

 

“Your brother’s right chuffed with himself,” Tematur said as she re-entered the chamber. 

 

“I’m sure. Could I beg your help burying this one? I didn’t want her to see him. She’s been through enough.”

 

Tematur looked at her half a second longer than what felt right, but went to retrieve the shovel and pick from her pack. They made enough of a depression in the stone to set the body in, then piled the stone over him again, leaving the blackened steel warhammer to mark the site.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“It’s no problem, Kendall. I am the muscle around here, after all. You’d better get back out there and keep an eye on your brother before he tries to marry the poor girl.”

 

Kendall laughed. “Wouldn’t put it past him.” 

 

When Kendall walked into the chamber, she saw Finras talking to Gunnloda, wearing his most charming smile- the one he used on pretty girls and gullible buyers- but when Kendall walked towards Lorelor to help set up camp for the night, she took notice of how Gunnloda’s eyes followed her. 

 

\----------------

 

Lorelor decided it was too dangerous to stay in what he suspected was an illithid camp, but Gunnloda wasn’t strong enough to travel so Tematur carried her. Once they made camp in a new, safer cavern, Finras declared that they’d use this campsite as a base camp and continue looking for the fennel silk, but leave someone behind to take care of their new charge. Kendall was the obvious choice, and she took some amount of delight in pointing it out to Finras. 

 

Gunnloda huddled in her blanket, so close to the campfire that Kendall was worried the blanket might catch. She startled at every noise and sometimes held her hands over her ears like she was trying to block out the noise, even when it was quiet. Kendall made some of her dwindling supply of tea and brought some to Gunnloda. 

 

“Tea, dear? It might help with the chill.”

 

Gunnloda took the mug with trembling hands. “Thank you. You’re n-not cold?”

 

Kendall frowned a little and tilted her head to better examine her. “It’s… not cold here.”   
  


Gunnloda frowned, her hands wrapped around the mug like she was trying to soak the warmth into herself. “C-can’t stop shivering. S-so cold.”

 

Kendall slowly stepped closer to her, not wanting to startle her, and kneeled next to her. She put a hand against Gunnloda’s forehead, then her cheek. Her skin felt cool, but not excessively cold. 

 

“D-do you r-reckon it’s…” she trailed off. Kendall knew what she was referring to. She hadn’t actually spoken the words yet. It was like she was avoiding talking about what had happened. 

 

“I’m sorry, love. I don’t know. You’re the only person I’ve ever brought back.”

 

Gunnloda turned back to stare at the fire. Kendall waited a few moments, then stood to start preparing a new batch of trillimac. As she started soaking the mushroom stalk in water, Gunnloda turned to watch her. 

 

Kendall tried not to acknowledge the intensity of the stare, but when she looked up, it was like she could see Gunnloda trying to piece memories or thoughts together. Sometimes it seemed like her thoughts were scattered and she needed to put them in some semblance of order before she could say or do whatever it was that was on her mind. 

 

Gunnloda stood, holding the blanket around herself. She still had a bit of instability to her step, like she was still trying to remember how to use her legs, but she walked to the other end of the cavern. Kendall watched curiously as she ran her hand over a rough patch of the wall, then picked at part of it. It took her a couple tries, and Kendall tried not to smile at the soft, frustrated swears she could hear drift back to her, but after a couple minutes, Gunnloda managed to peel something away from the wall. 

 

She walked back, passing the fire and walking up to the pot Kendall was using to soak the trillimac. She closed her eyes, like she might be able to find the words she wanted written inside her eyelids. She opened them again with a frown. “F-for… to cook.” She pointed at her mouth. “The… t-taste.” She held the filmy layer of what she’d peeled from the wall out towards the pot.

 

Kendall took a guess. “Is this… a seasoning? For flavor?”

 

Gunnloda smiled and nodded. “Y-yes. I c-cook.”

 

“You’re a cook? Is that right? Do you like to cook?”

 

Gunnloda nodded again. She held her hand out for the spoon, so Kendall handed it to her. Gunnloda tore the film in her hand into long strips and set most of it aside, but stirred two into the water. 

 

“I’ve never been very good at making the food. I’m very good at eating it, though,” Kendall joked. 

 

“Let it...bath?”

 

“Soak?”

 

“Soak. Sorry. Words are… hard.”

 

Kendall gave Gunnloda a soft smile. “It’s all right, love. You’ve been through quite the ordeal. Let’s get you back off your feet, yeah?”

 

Gunnloda nodded and let Kendall lead her back to the fire where she sat, wrapped in the blanket again. She watched as Gunnloda started to nod off.

 

\------------------

 

Her eyes were heavy. She’d tried to stay awake as long as she could, afraid that this was all a dream. She’d wake up and find herself back in the cage, watching Kafar slowly melt away, feeling the bugs crawling over her. Or worse, back in the darkness. She couldn’t feel the fear while she was there, but the thought of returning terrified her. 

 

She drifted off slowly, but the walls closed quickly. Surrounded on all sides by stone and her ears full of whispers, she startled back awake. 

 

“You’re safe, love. You’re awake.”

 

Gunnloda tried to catch her breath as she blinked and reoriented herself. She wasn’t trapped, just wrapped in a blanket. Kendall was kneeling next to her, concern in her eyes. The others were still gone. As her heart started to slow, she burst into tears. 

 

She felt small arms wrap around her and leaned into the comforting warmth. “You’re ok now, love. I’ve got you.” 

 

Once Gunnloda’s sobs had subsided, Kendall spoke again. “I imagine with all this tosh, it’s hard to feel safe… but I’m not going to let anything else happen to you, all right? I brought you back, so you’re my responsibility now. So here…”

 

Kendall’s grip on her loosened and she reached into her pack, then pulled two rings from a small pouch. She took Gunnloda’s hand and slid one of the rings onto her finger, then put the other onto her own hand. She clasped their hands together, bowed her head, and prayed. “Boldrei, Sovereign of Hall and Hearth, lend me your strength that I might protect this woman from all that troubles her.” 

 

A wave of energy pulsed through Gunnloda’s skin, moving up her arms from her hands, through her head and torso, down her legs, to her feet. She marveled for a moment, feeling somehow stronger. She looked at Kendall for an explanation.

 

“As long as you wear this ring, I’ll be able to protect you, so don’t you worry, love. I’ve got you.”

 

Gunnloda let Kendall help her lie down next to the fire, her head in Kendall’s lap, and she fell asleep wrapped in the security of Kendall’s magic, Kendall’s fingers smoothing over her hair.


End file.
